Movies and books these days are highly entertaining but not that memorable. The U.S. is striving to create and sustain a golden era of story telling (such as that of ancient Greece or 19th century Russia) but failing. Why is this?

The culture of the United States is obsessed with youth and staying young. No one wants to get old. Yet we love it when a character in a story comes to a crossroads and makes a hard choice that shows how they've matured over the course of the story. They've reached a new level of growth. This is literally character growth. It feeds our subconscious and makes a great story.

Remaining obsessed with youth is resistance to growth. Growth is good. Growth is life...